The British Association Of Social Workers (BASW) is collaborating with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, to examine how much one to one time social workers spend with children and families during child protection investigations. In order to do this, they have created a survey, and they’d love to hear your thoughts.
This is what the introduction to the survey says:
“The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) and BASW are working in partnership to promote and enhance the importance of social workers spending quality ‘direct’ time with children and families, which is vital to developing trusting relationships and completing good quality assessments, decision-making and plans based on the wishes, feelings, holistic needs and interests of the child.
Children have a right to have their voice heard in any decision that affects their lives, to receive information and explanations in meaningful ways, and to have opportunities to explore their concerns and receive support. Any system change to delivery of services for children should also place children’s views and experiences at the heart of delivery. Children in research studies and consultations, such as with the Children’s Commissioner’s Office, have expressed their concerns about social workers spending less time with them and not seeing or hearing from their social workers enough. This is also a concern highlighted by numerous serious case reviews and public inquiries which highlight how the absence of engagement and communication with children compromises not only children’s right to a voice but to their safety.
We want to hear your views and gain enough feedback so we can lobby for social workers to spend more time undertaking direct work with children.”
Whilst the initiative is a good one, the questions were not as precise as we would have liked. Question 2 was particularly worrying, as it lumped face to face contact with phone contact, which are not the same when it comes to getting to know a child and building a trusting relationship with them.
We invited the BASW to edit this questionnaire so that these two elements were separated, and as of this afternoon they have very kindly done just that. (You can see a screenshot of the revised questionnaire at the bottom of the post).
We hope the sector will remember that quantity of time must be combined with quality time, so that social workers not only sit face to face with children, but really listen to what they have to say, and most importantly understand what these children are saying.
At only five questions, it’s a short survey, and so quick to fill out. If you’re not a social worker, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this survey, too.
A very big thank you to BASW for listening to our feedback and splitting Question 2, so that face to face contact is now presented as a stand alone element.
You can complete the survey here.
Researching Reform 
Social workers are the most hated profession in the country and deservedly so.
The least time these child snatchers spend with children the better for all concerned !
LikeLiked by 1 person
It depends what kind of a social worker you are. The officious busy-bodies responsible for tearing families apart may be an anathema to many, but the therapists working very hard trying to put the pieces back together again have a harrowing task. I know because my daughter is one of the latter. She dries several hundreds of miles every week between venues and individual cases, while weekends are spent pouring over paperwork on the computer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow Maureen your daughter is an exception and bravo for that ! Unfortunately the first thing most social workers do is try to split couples up as it is much easier to bully a mum on her own than a mum and dad together.
They do this by telling mum that splitting up is her only chance of recovering her children but once achieved they drive the poor woman to distraction with constant visits and assessments until she has mental problems and then bye bye children…………..
;
LikeLiked by 1 person
well said and so true, my god the amount of parents who contacted the help line who were told to split up when will it all stop NEVER/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Prisoners have all human rights children have none | Children …
http://www.childrenscreamingtobeheard.com/prisoners-human-rights-children-none/
Apr 3, 2014 – The differences between prisoners and children, prisoners do wrong and have their rights. Children who … So perhaps we should look at building prisons for children, then children would have the same rights as prisoners. The UK … What is more important a child or the money that can be made from them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Social Workers, How Much “One To One Time” Do You Spend With Children? | World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum.
When social workers are with children in care during any form of contact with parents their urgent task is to isolate and the GAG the children !
1:-Confiscate mobile phones and tablets to isolate children from family and friends.
2:-If they are foreign FORBID them to speak their own language so as to demoralise them and crush them.
3:-Forbid them to report physical or sexual abuse by foster families or social workers.
4:- Forbid them to discuss their case or the possibility of returning home (final crush)
Murderers in prison can phone whoever they like and discuss anything they like with whoever they like and report any abuse they suffer.Social workers repeatedly treat children worse than serial killers and should themselves be locked up !
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have today seen again the Documentary on the German death camp Treblinka were untold thousands were murdered, and what was said was that the the people being murdered were afraid of the SS, so what is new the British parents are in the same boat, many parents have said to me we are afraid to speak out because we will lose our child/ren, there was untold thousands of children arriving with their parents to be slaughtered and on arrival the children were stripped from their families and stripped of clothes and personal belongings, again what is new British children also stripped of their rights and families, at the end of the war only a few SS officers were bought to account and the same is happening in the British SS, amazing that there was a German SS and a British SS, perhaps the closed family courts are as they are so that again parents are in the same situation as the children in Treblinka, the word is British kids stolen sold and used for the paedophiles and sex abusers, so Treblinka continues and i have witnessed many children put in a car and driven into the unknown never to have contact with their families and should they have contact many lies are written down by the supervisors and contacts are stopped with the SS telling the kids your family do not want you and this is why you are in care.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear readers and friends, as of this afternoon BASW have very kindly edited their questionnaire to reflect our request. The post has been updated with further information and the revised survey.
LikeLike
they state –
“Children have a right to have their voice heard in any decision that affects their lives”.
well sadly this is not happening as its SS policy to cut children off from their parents then lie to them about why contact has stopped. they then tell the same lies to the parents and they will use every obstacle in the book to stop the parents getting to the truth or getting to speak to their child to verify whats been said. even the schools and other so-called professionals comply with the SS by refusing to give any information to the parents. its extremely cruel but thats whats going on no matter if you believe it or not.
LikeLike